North Wales

We set off briskly on the morning of the 27th December for a week in a remote Welsh cottage. The boys have not seen lots of the UK and North Wales is full of good stuff, easily enough to fill a week. The cottage looked idyllic online and the prospect of turning a generator on and off was intriguing and made us feel like it would be a little 'back to nature'.

We arrived before sunset, and we were right to do so. The cottage was the only building on a single track road that ran up the side of one valley. In the dark it would have been tricky to find, and even tricker to get set up once we had found it. To get electricity for anything we needed to get the petrol fueled engine up and running (we also had to turn it off again at the end of each evening and when we left each day). There was little in the way of central heating and what heat we did have was created by the oil burning stove in the living room and the range in the kitchen.

The location was, however, stunning. It was like having our own valley. The was no-one anywhere near us. 

Night-time was amazing: total darkness. Here is Jill holding our battery powered lantern:

The stars looked beautiful. There was no artificial light for miles around so we got a fantastic view of the night sky. 

We visited the castles at Conwy and Caernarfon. They were built by Edward 1 in the late 13th Century to impose English rule on the Welsh. In both cases the town walls, built with the castle, still stand. This is Conwy:

And here is Caernarfon:

We went on some walks. On Snowdon;

And straight out from the cottage towards Llyn Conwy: 

And we went down the slate mines at Blaenau Ffestiniog: 

Evenings were generally filled by huddling around the kitchen table, near the range, and we had a couple of evening where DJ Ollie arranged a dance-off competition in the living room. It was one way to keep warm. Despite the cold, (it got to -10C), we had a terrific time, and it was far better to have cold and sunny weather than slightly warmer yet rainy/cloudy conditions. 

I couldn't possibly let this post go without a picture of the outhouse and the generator where I spent many happy moments, both last thing at night and first thing in the morning.

For a full set of pictures go here and click on the slideshow icon in the top right hand corner.